‘BJP rhetoric against minorities can explode into widespread violence’

Report says Modi govt pumping up ridiculous notion that India’s 300m minority poses a threat to the 1.1b majority

India has witnessed a growing wave of intolerance under the rule of Hindu-nationalist government of Narendra Modi with some experts believe that BJP was “resorting to divisive rhetoric because it can no longer rely on divisive promises”.

Modi-led government after fulfilling its controversial pledges such as revoking the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), needed something new to broaden its support base, according to a report published in The Economist.

The report warned the Indian government to realise that by pumping up the ridiculous notion that India’s 300 million or so non-Hindu minority posing a threat to the 1.1 billion majority, it is unleashing forces that may become uncontrollable.

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Sectarian bloodshed can generate a momentum of its own. A Hindu chauvinist India would not only be nastier for its inhabitants, it could also spread instability, prone to even worse relations with its Muslim neighbours, said the report.

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The report also urged Delhi friends including United States to use their influence to persuade Modi and his acolytes to check the spread of hate before it explodes into widespread violence.

Earlier this month, former naval chief and senior military commander Arun Prakash had warned that India could descend into civil war as political leadership of the country had failed to condemn the recent genocide calls against Muslims by Hindu hardliners.

Leaders of several far-right Hindu groups had called for genocide of minorities in India, particularly country's 200-million-strong Muslim community at a three-day ‘hate speech conclave’ organised by the controversial Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand in December, 2021.

In an interview with The Wire, former admiral Arun Prakash said the silence of the country’s political leadership over calls for Muslim genocide and ethnic cleansing is “ominous … (and) there should be outright condemnation and firm action”.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also questioned the silence of Indian Prime Minister Modi over calls for the genocide of Indian Muslims by the far-right leaders belonging to Hindutva outfits and urged the international community to act against extremist agenda of the Indian government.